Mets 3 – Braves 2
As Jeremy Griffiths studied the Braves hitters on a laptop computer at 10 a.m. yesterday, Joe McEwing and a few other teammates were touting the 25-year-old right-hander as “our big-game pitcher.”
Although Griffiths didn’t earn the victory in his third major-league start, he certainly lived up to McEwing’s lofty ideal. He allowed two earned runs over 6 1/3 innings in the Mets’ 3-2 victory over Atlanta and matched four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux virtually pitch for pitch.
“I don’t think he made many mistakes over the course of the day,” McEwing said later. “He’s a very confident guy.
“He didn’t pitch around anybody. He went right after them.”
The red-headed rookie scattered six hits against the most dangerous offense in the NL, walking four and whiffing six. He was rewarded with the start instead of disappointing rookie Aaron Heilman, who has been relegated to mop-up work in the bullpen.
It was a smart move, and manager Art Howe said Griffiths “probably” will stay in the rotation this weekend.
“He pounded the strike zone early on,” Howe said. “He deserved the win.”
Before yesterday’s showdown with Maddux, Griffiths made his major-league debut at Yankee Stadium on June 28 against Roger Clemens and pitched in place of Tom Glavine against St. Louis on Aug. 3. (Another start against the Yankees was rained out.)
So he is no stranger to good teams or potent offenses.
“I still think good pitching gets out good hitting,” Griffiths said. “So if your stuff’s on, you can get out any hitters. It’s good to face teams like that, because it just makes you stronger.”
Timely hitting, stellar defense and excellent relief work helped the Mets (60-76) break a three-game losing streak in a Labor Day matinee marred by intermittent rain. In the seventh inning, Timo Perez drove in Roger Cedeno with the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly to center, and Dan Wheeler (1-2) earned the victory with one inning of relief.
David Weathers escaped an eighth-inning jam by turning a 1-2-3 twin killing and stranded two men in the ninth for his sixth save.
Griffiths didn’t have the curveball and change-up he spent time working on at Triple-A Norfolk. Instead, he challenged the Braves with his fastball and slider and worked his way out of the occasional jam.
This is Griffiths’ third stint with the Mets, and his stock has risen each time. Although Heilman will get another chance next spring at the latest, Griffiths can prove he belongs in the majors with a strong September.
“It’d be in my best interest to pitch well this month,” Griffiths said.
The Mets set up their second and third runs with first-and-third situations because of the old fashioned hit-and-run. The sacrifice flies that followed by Marco Scutaro (in the fourth) and Perez may not have been thrilling, but they were effective.
Defensively, McEwing filled in nicely for shortstop Jose Reyes, who could miss the rest of the season with a sprained left ankle. First baseman Jason Phillips, after driving in the first run, turned a nifty 3-6-1 double play on Chipper Jones to end the fifth.
With one out and the bases loaded in the eighth, Weathers saved the day when he snagged Johnny Estrada’s grounder back to the box. The ball rolled up his wrist into his hand, and he threw a “palmball” home to begin the double play.
“Best change-up I threw all year,” he joked. “I’m coming out with a fielding video next week. I’m taking [Fred] McGriff’s spot.”
